Jimmy Kimmel, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, David Letterman and Craig Ferguson are all joining Carson Daly and returning to TV for the first time since the WGA strike began two months ago.

Kimmel, Leno and O'Brien are returning without their writers and are rumored to have the disadvantage of booking guests because stars will not cross the line to appear on their show. I can tell you there are many great musical acts, sports stars, Presidential candidates, comedians and reality stars who will be willing to fill the slots and sometimes they make much better guests! The writers have said they will be picketing outside Jay Leno and Jimmy Kimmel's studios in protest of them returning. I understand what the writers are trying to say, but these guys are returning to help their non-writing staff and not because they want to.

So when it comes to supporting the talk show hosts, I am supporting Jimmy Kimmel, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien and Carson Daly only! So good luck to you guys, I know you need it!And BTW Jimmy Kimmel is back….Yahoo!!!

David Letterman and Craig Ferguson will be joining Jimmy Kimmel, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien and did I mention Jimmy Kimmel by returning to the late night airwaves on Wednesday. But unlike the others and Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert (who return on the 7th) and Spike Feresten (on the 12th) both shows will be returning with their writers after reaching an agreement with The WGA according Variety.

I am glad that all of late night is coming back together!!! And as you guys know I am over the moon to have a new episode of Jimmy Kimmel on the 2nd!!!

Comedy Central announced today that The Daily Show and The Colbert Report will join 4 of the 6 late night talk show hosts and return to TV on January 7th according to AP. Both shows will not be coming back with any writers, so it will be interesting to see how they will do because they more scripted than the late night shows. I think both guys will be able to handle it for the interim.

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert released this statement about returning:

"We would like to return to work with our writers. If we cannot, we would like to express our ambivalence, but without our writers, we are unable to express something as nuanced as ambivalence."

I know that they don't want to go back, but there are a lot of people that will be so happy to have them back on the air on the 7th.

UPDATE: Here is the WGA's respone to them returning:

"Comedy Central forcing Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert back on the air will not give the viewers the quality shows they've come to expect. The only way to get the writing staffs back on the job is for the AMPTP companies to come back to the table prepared to negotiate a fair deal with the Writers Guild."

The WGA has opted not to give writing waivers to this year's Oscars and Golden Globes according to the WGA.

In letters to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, WGAW President Patric M. Verrone described the Guild’s respect and admiration for both organizations, explaining that:

“Writers are engaged in a crucial struggle to achieve a collective bargaining agreement that will protect their compensation and intellectual property rights now and in the future. We must do everything we can to bring our negotiations to a swift and fair conclusion for the benefit of writers and all those who are being harmed by the companies’ failure to engage in serious negotiations.”

The signatories producing the Golden Globes and the Oscars are West Coast signatories. The WGAW’s Board of Directors concluded, reluctantly, that granting exceptions for the Golden Globes or the Academy Awards would not advance that goal.

While I support the writers I think there are some things that above the strike and these two awards shows are two of them. These shows are not about the writers but honoring Hollywood for the work they accomplished over the year and the fans. The fans are the ones that are getting screwed by this waiver and with the loss of their shows and now their awards shows how long do you think they will support the writers? Do you think middle-America understands why they are losing their shows and now their awards shows?

Not only is it the fans that are affected by this decision, but so are all the people that depend on these awards shows like the designers, jewelers and hair dressers to name a few. These are people who will suffer financially because of this decision.

Seriously what have the Hollywood Foreign Press and AMPAS done but honor you and your work and this is the thanks you give them. Think back to when you were a kid and you wanted to be giving that acceptance speech for your script, well that chance might be taken away from another writer. Not only that what about that kid who will miss out from having that dream because the GG and Oscars did not go on as is. Who exactly is The WGA hurting by not granting the waivers? Seems like a lot more people than the studio and network heads.

I understand that The WGA is trying to make a point and screw the studios (which they will) but they are screwing us too and so many others. I really hope they reconsider that this strike is not only about them and they grant the waivers.

As expected NBC made the announcement today that Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien will return to their shows on January 2nd!

After two months of repeats, "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" will resume broadcasting all-new episodes beginning Wednesday, January 2, 2008 (11:35 p.m., 12:35 a.m., respectively).

The late night shows suspended production due to the strike by the Writers Guild of America on November 5 and have aired repeats since.

"During the 1988 writers strike, Johnny Carson reluctantly returned to 'The Tonight Show' without his writers after two months. Both Jay and Conan have supported their writers during the first two months of this WGA strike and will continue to support them. However, there are hundreds of people who will be able to return to work as a result of Jay's and Conan's decision," said Rick Ludwin, Executive Vice President, Late Night & Primetime Series.

I am glad that late night is slowly returning, now if only Jimmy Kimmel would come back it would make Christmas a little more special!

UPDATE 1: No news on Kimmel as of now.

UPDATE 2: Both Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien have released statements via NBC:

Jay Leno:

"This has been a very difficult six weeks for everybody affected by the writers strike. I was, like most people, hoping for a quick resolution when this began. I remained positive during the talks and while they were still at the table discussing a solution "The Tonight Show" remained dark in support of our writing staff. Now that the talks have broken down and there are no further negotiations scheduled I feel it's my responsibility to get my 100 non-writing staff, which were laid off, back to work. We fully support our writers and I think they understand my decision."

Conan O'Brien:

"For the past seven weeks of the writers' strike, I have been and continue to be an ardent supporter of the WGA and their cause. My career in television started as a WGA member and my subsequent career as a performer has only been possible because of the creativity and integrity of my writing staff. Since the strike began, I have stayed off the air in support of the striking writers while, at the same time, doing everything I could to take care of the 80 non-writing staff members on Late Night.

Unfortunately, now with the New Year upon us, I am left with a difficult decision. Either go back to work and keep my staff employed or stay dark and allow 80 people, many of whom have worked for me for fourteen years, to lose their jobs. If my show were entirely scripted I would have no choice. But the truth is that shows like mine are hybrids, with both written and non-written content. An unwritten version of Late Night, though not desirable, is possible – and no one has to be fired.

So, it is only after a great deal of thought that I have decided to go back on the air on January 2nd. I will make clear, on the program, my support for the writers and I'll do the best version of Late Night I can under the circumstances. Of course, my show will not be as good. In fact, in moments it may very well be terrible. My sincerest hope is that all of my writers are back soon, working under a contract that provides them everything they deserve."

I respect them for coming back and thinking of the other staff. They have supported the writers as long as they can, but now they have to think of the rest of their staff and the fans…and the ratings.